The Sorcerer Prince

As the spikes of ice careened towards the princes, Elsa powerless to stop them, suddenly a wall of dark magic shot forth in the shape of vicious hell hounds and crunched their massive and horrifying teeth down on the spikes, shattering them in a wave as the dark pack continued charging at Elsa. Elsa gasped and screamed, covering her face. Just as they were about to reach her, though, they stopped. Heart thumping, she looked forward, numb. In fact, all eyes were fixed on the scene. Shattered ice particles from the wall of spikes were lying useless on the ground. Centimeters from the Queen's face, the dark wall of hounds stayed as if being held back by chains. On second glance, actually, there were dark wisps of mystical chains.

Slowly Elsa looked on in shocked disbelief. Standing in the forefront of the princes was Mael, fist clenched. After a moment he opened his hand and the hounds fell to their four legs once more. He waved his hand and they vanished like smoke. His brothers—at least those from Franz down—gaped at Mael in complete and total horror and shock. The older ones, say for Moren and Jürgen, weren't looking at him and were instead looking at the ground or to the side shamefully.

"L-Lars …?" Hans barely managed to breathe out, eyes fixed on his sibling in terror.

"Oh I knew there was something fu…" Franz began.

"Franz," Justic warned in hardly a murmur.

"Messed up about him!" Franz finished in disbelief.

Mael lowered his arm. No one dared approach him. Finally, though, the guards mustered their courage and lunged, quickly wrestling—not that Mael was resisting—the man's arms behind his back and binding them tightly. Whispers of 'sorcerer' and 'devil's messenger' were heard among the crowd. Whispers of 'should be burned at the stake' and 'the Queen's magic at least had good in it, but where is the good in his' also could be picked out.

Moren and Jürgen looked numbly at their brother. Mael met their eyes and bowed his head in something like apology, but more like resignation. A silent plea. Don't step in this time… And they didn't… "Take him to the dungeons!" the captain of the guard ordered. Elsa tried to find her tongue to speak but couldn't. She just gaped in disbelief, hurt and fear and amazement in her eyes. Mael met her gaze. Elsa felt frozen in place. He bowed his head slightly to her and turned, heading towards the dungeons even without the guards escorting him.

"What just happened…?" Kristoff breathed.

"Hans got another brother to take the punishment he deserved, that's what," Jürgen bitterly said, glaring scathingly and accusingly at Hans. Hans withered. Literally. He withered about as much as a human could. Jürgen was right… He was right… Hans gave up struggling, in fact collapsing to his knees with a gasp. The triplets quickly and worriedly pulled him back up. Hans shook them off viciously and looked after Mael.

"Bring him to his room," Moren ordered. Franz cringed but soon took Hans's arm roughly. A little rougher than necessary. Immediately the other princes bowed and turned, hurrying off to do as the eldest ordered. Moren turned to the guests. "The show is over. The queen has called an end to the festivities. Be on your way and you will speak no word of anything that transpired here for fear of the vengeance of the Southern Isles. The seriousness in his tone quailed them, and the guests became terrified. In silence they quickly slipped away. They feared that should they speak of the matter against the King's orders, the phantoms of the sorcerer would find them in the night and rend them limb from limb.

Frozen

The brothers from Franz down were in Hans's room, and things were getting bad. "Did you know about this?!" Kelin-Sel shouted at Franz Neb, who was pacing restlessly, holding his head in his hands as the younger brothers all surrounded him baying for answers.

"Leave me out of this," Franz muttered. Oh it sucked to be the middle child. Horribly. Literally the middle of all thirteen. There were six older and six younger. He was right in the middle.

"Did you know our brother was a magic wielder?!" Kelin-Sel demanded.

"Answer us, dammit Franz! Don't ignore us again!" Iscawin begged.

"No! I didn't know, okay, I didn't! I didn't! In that respect I was considered one of the 'little ones', you understand? They never told me anything!" Franz yelled back. "No, no, no, they-they did. They almost-they said there was-was something I needed to know about-about them and the past and something about Lars and just... I didn't want to know, okay? I didn't want to know! I still don't." Suspecting what had happened in the past was bad enough as it was… "I begged them to consider me one of the 'little ones' in that respect. Even when they said they wanted me to know, I walked out. I didn't want to hear, I don't want hear, I never want to hear! For god's sake, leave me out of this! I knew nothing! I was ignorant! I wanted to be, had to be!" Realizing he was starting to sound hysterical, he took a breath, frantically trying to calm down.

"Why didn't they tell us?!" Calcas demanded in anguish.

"Because it was something you didn't need to know!" Franz shouted. "No one needed to know! That was their issue, not any of yours and not mine."

"It wasn't our issue to know our brother was a sorcerer?!" Coth freaked.

"He isn't! I mean I don't know. I mean, well, dammit, why don't you ask the others about this? I can't help you!" Franz insisted.

"Our brothers stopped helping us long ago," Connyn muttered.

"That isn't true!" Franz shot sharply, eyes narrowing.

"Yes it is. And you know it," Hans murmured. They turned to him. He hadn't moved from his position on the bed, head hung low and eyes shut. He hadn't spoken since the banquet. Since Mael had been brought to the prisons. They liked to believe it was because of guilt. Maybe it was. With Hans, though, you could never really tell. They fell silent. None dared ask him. Maybe they didn't want to know the answer. Not wanting to know… That seemed to be the biggest problem for all of them… Maybe if they did, things wouldn't be like, well, this… But it wasn't like they knew how to do much better.

Frozen

Elsa sat like a statue in her chair, listening to the advisors speaking. She could hardly hear the one taking the lead and could hardly see, the image of the burst of magic from Mael returning to memory and replaying over and over and over again.

She wasn't the only one…

"He cannot be allowed to live!" the grand advisor said.

Elsa snapped back to herself, giving him and the others a cold look. "Much like you felt towards me," she said.

"In your powers, my queen, there was good to be felt. It was as beautiful as it was dangerous… But him… Those powers are dark and deadly. There is no beauty or redeeming aspect of them. There is nothing but blackness," the head advisor said. Elsa was quiet. Quiet because she knew he was right…

Such wickedness felt from those powers… How could it be so dark?

"What are you suggesting?" she questioned.

"Ideally? Have that man burned at the stake," the head advisor replied. "Unfortunately, that would do our political relations with the Southern Isles no good unless…"

"Unless?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unless King Moren agreed," the advisor said.

"It is his brother. He won't," Elsa answered. "And I won't have talk of burning anyone at the stake anymore. We live in the nineteenth century. That punishment hasn't exited in my land since the sixteenth century and never will again! We're through here, advisors. Please, summon King Moren. I've… changed my mind… I need to speak to him…"

"I urge you, your majesty, to have that sorcerer put to death before he beats you to it," the advisor insisted.

"Go," Elsa firmly said, unmoved in her resolve. "The Sorcerer Prince will not be harmed on my land or on my orders."

"As you command, your majesty. I pray you see the light soon, though," the man said, bowing to her then turning and leaving with the rest.

Frozen

Elsa let out a shaky breath, body sagging in the throne as she dropped the mask of poise she'd been wearing. She was shaking she noted, as she looked at her hands. She swallowed and closed her eyes tightly, clenching her fists. The door opened. Elsa looked up quickly. She tried to put on the mask of poise again, but when she saw how defeated and ashamed the King looked, she gave up on the guise and let herself sag weakly again, and tiredly. She just wanted to sleep and pretend none of this had ever happened… Anna, at least, had Kristoff to lean upon. Last she had seen the two, Anna was weeping against her fiancé as Kristoff held her so lovingly… She wished, right now, that she had that, but it would never be. It couldn't be. Not with her powers like this. She couldn't… she would never be able to bring herself to risk it…

Moren was before her, she suddenly noticed. What was he doing? She sat up in surprise. He was kneeling to her, head bowed low. "Forgive my brother for his foolishness. Forgive all of us," Moren said. "If I had known it would end like this…"

She didn't want to hear it. "Don't ask me to forgive what can't be forgiven," she answered.

"Then I will only apologize eternally to you for what happened this night," Moren said.

"You don't have to. Don't apologize for Hans's behavior," she said. "That's his issue, not yours."

"I wish it were so simple," Moren said. Elsa thought about pressing before deciding she didn't have the energy for it.

"Did you know?" she questioned. Moren was silent, still not looking up. "Rise. Please. You are a king. You don't need to kneel before me for your brothers' sakes." Moren glanced up at her then stood. Elsa gestured to a stool next to her throne, silently commanding—asking, rather—him to sit. Moren did so. Elsa looked at him for an answer. He was pretending he hadn't heard, she realized. "Did you know?" she repeated again. "About Mael?"

Moren bit the inside of his cheek then sighed, drawing a hand over his eyes tiredly. He looked up at her. "Yes," he answered boldly. All of us down to Justic knew. Franz would have known too had he wished it, but in that case he begged us to consider him one of the 'little ones' and tell him nothing… He is content in his obliviousness, but he suspects… He suspects more than he lets on… He just chooses to block it all out and not pay any mind to it…"

"Why only the eldest ones?" Elsa asked.

"Because the job of an older sibling is to protect their younger ones. They didn't need to know. No one beyond myself, Jürgen, and Lars needed to know, but Rudi, Rhun, at some point figured it out. One by one others began to as well. We cut it off at Justic. We wouldn't have the younger ones know too…" Moren answered.

Elsa was quiet. For now she would drop talk of Mael. "Hans said 'she didn't want a protector, she wanted a sister'," Elsa murmured. Moren was quiet. She looked at him. "Do you agree?"

"For the longest time I didn't… I was wrong… My siblings were right. All of them. They needed a brother, not a protector, so yes… Now I can say I agree with Hans, but it is too little too late for our family now," Moren said. He was quiet, as was Elsa. Finally he looked at her. "What fate do your people desire for Mael?"

Elsa bit her lower lip. "Burned at the stake," she finally admitted. And she feared a rebellion if she didn't oblige them, but she wasn't giving in to that pressure. Not now, not ever.

Moren was silent. "They will rebel if he does not die…" he murmured half to himself and half to her.

"No. I can handle talk of rebellion," Elsa answered. "I will not let them have your brother to strip and to humiliate and to execute."

Moren nodded sluggishly, emotionally and physically exhausted. "You didn't order Hans imprisoned," he noted.

"I wanted to wait for your blessing to do so. You were invited so that we could discuss relations between our nations as allies now. To lock up two of your brothers without your consent was kind of a step backwards," Elsa replied.

Moren nodded. "It is good you waited… I still don't know what to do…" he said. After a long moment, however, he looked up. "If you must, then imprison him," he said.

"Are you sure?" she questioned uneasily.

"I can't keep sparing him punishment," Moren answered. "Any of them, for that matter. They were ordered to be on their best behavior. Should any of them break that command, let them be locked up accordingly."

She saw him, in that moment, become a king. Not a brother, but a king, firm and harsh yet fair. "Maybe that should be explained to them before action is taken. If they didn't know the consequences before, they couldn't judge their actions accordingly."

"Hiding their actions for fear of punishment is no better than desiring to do them in the first place," Moren replied. Elsa was quiet. He was harsh, oh he was harsh. A strong king. One that no doubt demanded the respect of his subjects. She sometimes wished she could be so strong.

"Perhaps…" she murmured. She turned to him. "Let this one go," she said. "Make the consequences known, then if ever something like this happens again, they can be dealt with… I was cruel to Hans too… I shouldn't have said…" She trailed off, swallowing and bowing her head. She still couldn't believe some of those things she had said had come from her.

"No, you shouldn't have," Moren agreed, nodding. He turned to her. "But then sometimes, in the heat of anger, it's hard to see which lines shouldn't be crossed."

Elsa was silent, thinking. "Was Mael born with the powers or cursed?" she questioned.

"Cursed," Moren answered, rising and quickly walking away. She blinked after him. He was hiding something. He was hiding a lot. She didn't like it.

"King Moren," she said, rising up and standing regally and authoritatively. Moren turned. "If this alliance is going to work, I need to know there is honesty between our lands. I need to know I can trust you."

Moren was silent. "I hide nothing from you that shouldn't be hidden, my lady," he answered.

"Is that a lie or the truth?" she questioned, recalling Hans's warning about his brothers being chameleons too.

"Truth. In a sense. What befell the royal family in past and present personal lives is nothing that concerns you, Queen Elsa. Nor will it be opened up about. No decent ear should ever have to hear the stories… But trust that nothing that is hidden about our pasts pertains to the security of you, your sister, or your kingdom, and if it ever does stretch beyond the borders of the Southern Isles, you will know of it," he said.

"I wish I could trust you," she answered.

"I know," Moren answered. "I wish I could trust myself…" He looked at the window and sighed through the nose, pinching the bridge. "We will discuss the terms of the alliance tomorrow."

"It doesn't have to be so soon after all of this," she sympathetically said.

"It's alright," Moren assured.

"Mael will be there with you," she promised. "I won't have him locked away for something like this. I won't have him locked up because people are afraid."

"Sometimes, my queen, people fear for good reason," Moren said. With that he left. Elsa blinked, shocked silent. She let that sink in for a good long time.

Frozen

Elsa walked down to the dungeons silently. She took a deep breath, pushing open the door leading into it and entering quietly. She heard the guards muttering. Something about the chained sorcerer and about how they should behead him and burn his body before he brought the palace down on top of them. It seemed they had all consented to the plan. She inwardly cringed and slipped passed the guards. They wouldn't be carrying it out while she was here. Or after. She went to the far cell and paused, looking inside. The man sat still and regal, gazing ahead at nothing with a blank look in his eyes as if… She didn't know how to explain it, but something.

"Prince Mael," she gently said. He was unresponsive. She bit her lower lip then tentatively removed the keys to the cell. She inserted them cautiously into the lock, took a breath, then opened it up and slipped inside. She approached him carefully. He remained not moving. "Prince Mael," she repeated.

Mael blinked and suddenly seemed to notice her. "They will come to kill me tonight," he said to her.

"I won't let them," she promised.

"They will not obey you," he said. "You will tell them, 'You are not to draw your swords against the imprisoned sorcerer prince on penalty of death.' They will not draw their swords. They will instead take me and steal me away to the town square. They will burn me in secret at the stake."

Her eyes widened. He had just said the exact words she'd planned to use… "I-I will release you," she said.

"They will find me," he answered.

"Your brothers…" she began.

"Will be killed in my defense," he said. "I will not allow that so I will not be monitored constantly like Hans is being. Not when it means their deaths or the deaths of any others… But take heart, my lady. A savior will come… He will take my place and it will be him they lash and bind to the stake…"

"Who?" she questioned.

"I don't know…" he answered. "I cannot see the face…"

"That savior will die in your stead," Elsa realized in growing horror.

"I don't know," Mael said… "Part of me believes the savior will have an escape route of some sort, a plan to get away. Another part says that is a lie."

"What does that mean?" Elsa asked.

"Usually something ambiguous… It means my savior will rely on the actions of another… That one's decisions in the coming trial will mean the life or death of the savior who rescues me… It will not be my actions or those of my brothers, though perhaps in part they will be."

Elsa was quiet. "You're a seer…" she realized.

He blinked slowly towards her. "Not even my own brothers—at least not all—have deduced as much, though there are those of them who suspect…" he admitted. He looked ahead once more. "In the river's still expanse/Like some bold seer in a trance/Seeing all his own mischance/With a glassy countenance/Did she look to Camelot," he murmured.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A quoted poem. The Lady of Shalott. It was written by an acquaintance of mine. Alfred Lord Tennyson," Mael answered. Hans hated him and the feeling was mutual, Mael knew. "He desires to publish it someday… It is a beautiful poem… And tragic," he murmured.

"You're like the seer," she deduced.

"My lady, I am the seer," Mael answered. "I was who he pictured when that line came to mind for it… Yes, I trusted a mere acquaintance with that secret before even my own brothers… That is true tragedy."

"You've gazed into your future," she realized.

"Yes," he murmured.

"What did you see?" she questioned.

"Pain. Sorrow. Darkness… You know, the future changes… Many a vision I have seen has been avoided because something unexpected or out of the ordinary happened to divert it and change the path. You can change a forseen future, despite what most will tell you… Fate is ever changing and never certain… As they spin the threads, the fates change and tune and take apart and reweave according to the decisions we each make…" Mael muttered.

"You seem a poet too," she remarked.

"Yes," he answered. He looked at her. "Why did you come?" he asked.

"To free you," she said.

"You're lying," he stated.

She blushed and bowed her head. "You sensed I had powers…" she murmured.

"Yes," he said. "And sensed them coming to light…"

"Is that why you came near when Iscawin danced with me, so that he could spin me off to you?" she asked.

He had helped her regain control of them...

"You have it within you to control that which you wield. In a way you already do," Mael said. "What you lack is someone who can show you the true meaning of control."

"Confidence?" she questioned.

"No," he answered. "Not in this case. First accept they are part of you and forever will be," he said. "Until you do that, nothing more can be done."

"You mean resign myself," she said.

"I resigned myself," he said. "You were born with them. It will be easier for you to accept than it was for me. You almost already have," Mael said.

"Have I?" she asked, looking at her hands. Sometimes she wasn't so sure.

"Take my hands," he said, holding them out. She looked at them in surprise. "Take them and unleash your power into me," he said.

"What?" she asked, paling.

He seized her hands firmly. "Use them," he commanded. She didn't move. "Now," he ordered.

She looked down, tearing her gaze away from his eyes. Had he been hypnotising her? No, that was silly. His eyes were just... She didn't know. The kind that made you feel that way. She wanted to protest, but she got the sense that he could handle this. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and unleashed her powers into him. His hands remained warm. After a minute or so she stopped, looking up at him. He nodded. "Well?" she asked.

"Your aunt was greatly favored by someone, once upon a time," Mael answered. "You had her favor and her blessing to be born with them after her." He gave her little more information than that, returning to sitting.

"What are the Princes of the Southern Isles to us?" she questioned.

"We will be as much your enemies as your friends, and relations between us may be ever changing, even to war and betrayal, but always we will return to each other," Mael answered. "We won't necessarily have much choice but to do so."

Elsa nodded. "You can teach me. To use these powers and control them," she said.

"I can. And I will, if you desire it… When all is said and done and I am certain I will live," he answered. She nodded.

"Let me free you," she pled.

"Leave me here," he commanded.

"If I tell the guards that no harm is to befall you?" she questioned.

He looked amusedly at her. "Then they will defy you," he answered. "Fear can sometimes be even more powerful than loyalty, Queen Elsa." She bowed her head then turned and left. Oh she hoped his vision was true… And she hoped the savior would survive as well…